Monday, March 29, 2010

The church in the vale...

Me N Scratch took a drive to the river bottoms yesterday looking for interesting shots of old buildings...what a gem. This abandoned old church sits down near the Oakville bottoms,an area that has been ravaged by flooding for several years now.The levies just can't hold back the Iowa River anymore,too many floods...do you think we're seeing weather changes...?

What a homestead...this old relic just looked so forlorn, as the Chinese elm tree dwarfs it,so typical of abandoned homes on the river bottoms. Scrub trees run rampant, decay sets in andfolks tired of the floods move to higher ground out of harms way.

Having served it's term, the barn stands as a monument to farming everywhere, no longer useful because the new equipment doesn't even come close to fitting through the doors,so they sit, filled with rusting implements past their prime...

Boy, would this American Picker love to go through these old steads.

Speaking of American Pickers...Mike Wolf is a friend, Lorie and I rented a shop from him in LeClaire, Iowa...the shots of me on the Harley over at The Wild Thing blog is one of Mike's bikes that he dragged in for me to see...he has a great eye for the good stuff...always like to see the new stuff he acquired every week....PICK ON AMERICA!!!

9 comments:

Sad to see, but what great shots. Especially love the church. My Dad's farm in South Dakota was abandoned after his father passed away in the 1960's. I wanted the front door, huge beveled oval glass center, amongst many other things, but someone took it and everything else they could get their paws on. I have not been back since I was 12, but I fell in love with it then, and it's still all fresh in my mind.

What lovely photos. I love old barns and buildings like that and have always wanted to photograph them but have never really done it yet. Maybe someday before it is too late. One of the barns I wanted to photograph I saw had fallen completely to the ground sometime over the winter.

hey, hey. I did the same thing yesterday. Took the camera in the truck down back roads I rarely travel and some new ones that connected to them and photographed old barns, houses, silos, and such. Especially beautiful in the early spring with grasses all knocked down from winter and trees void of leaves. Gives it a more forlorn image yet. I sure had a fun day. Much needed...LOVE your photos!in fondest, Tilda

No way, you've met the American Picker guy?! I watched that show for the first time the other night and decided to record it -- those guys are great! They got some cool signs and two huge glass gas tanks on the show I watched. Love the pics and I'm with you, it would be hard to suppress the desire to explore the old church and homestead!

So much grey wood in these buildings! Is that just weathering, or are they all made like this? There is quite a sadness here - as emptiness always is! But how beautiful! Instantly questions and stories start arising! Great for us creative crazies!

The Wild Thing

About Me

The Sweet Repose of a 66 year old on a quest for the simple life. My home is my studio of life, my pink shack and six acres of paradise to me and my dog Scratchy. I'm a former taxidermist, a watercolorist, a dog groomer, a gardener, an antique dealer,a single free spirit and an entrepreneur of addictions that feed my soul and my art...my heart writes what it sees and my blog shares it with you...and yes, I'm a dreamer...!

free spirit

At this stage of the game, you just can't take anything too serious, it's about life and art and the drive to make it all happen, the humility to keep it in perspective...And a great punch line...S.Wilson